On March 4, 2016, the three Southern California Luce Foundation-funded programs at Whittier College, Occidental College, and the Claremont Colleges came together to examine the theme of “Globalization & Sovereignty: Examining Environmental Issues in Asia.” Although the regional programs are in different stages of their grants, utilize different approaches, and work in different countries, they came together to share their research. The conference took place at Pitzer College’s Archive and Conference Center with a break during lunch, where participants walked to Pomona College’s Oldenborg Center to hear keynote speaker Yan Min Aung. The image below is a word cloud comprised of topics participants learned about at the conference (taken from survey responses). In general, participants enjoyed learning about each other’s programs, and especially liked the opportunity to discuss with each other environmental issues in Asia.

Word Cloud created from evaluation asking what participants learned at the conference

10:45-11:15 – Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment at Whittier College

Title: Sustainable Management through Liberal Arts Thinking

Presenters:Jeff Decker, Associate Professor, Department of Business AdministrationKeoni Kanoa, Whittier College ‘17, Business Administration (Marketing) MajorEoghan Foley, Whittier College ‘16, International Business Major

11:15-11:45 – the Luce China-Environment Program at Occidental College

Title: The Challenges of Urban Renewal and Housing in Contemporary Hong Kong

The conference was jointly planned by the Coordinators of the LIASE programs: Heng Lam Foong at Occidental College, Denise Wong Velasco at Whittier College, and Karin Mak of EnviroLab Asia at the Claremont Colleges.